A need has developed in the art for motor designs that are more compact and less expensive. Motor design includes the following considerations: insulation is required on the stator; a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) must be positioned “accurately” with respect to the stator windings; magnetic wiring should be inserted into a stator in the most orderly fashion possible to minimize resistance and coil volume; and material and labor costs should be minimized. However, achieving each of these functions separately drives up cost and complexity in the manufacturing process.
Conventional approaches to the foregoing are not optimal solutions when a PCBA is to be accurately positioned on the stator. For example, with respect to insulation, for safety purposes, the stator is twice insulated from the magnetic wiring that is wound into them, i.e., once by the insulation carried on the outer surface of the magnetic wiring itself and again by an insulating barrier applied between the stator and the insulated magnet wire.
In low to medium volume manufacturing settings, the stator is commonly insulated by any of several means, e.g., conformal films, paper strips (e.g., Nomex), tapes and molded slotliners. Each of these is useful as an insulator, however, there is no mechanical purpose served, i.e., they are only insulators. For example, known insulators include the primary function of being form fitting to the stator core and being made of an insulating material, without the provision for other functions.
With respect to PCBA mounting, in connection with a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor, the PCBA contains components that facilitate BLDC motor operation (e.g., one or more Hall sensors, Thermal Sensors, leadwire connections, etc.). Such components are usually attached to a proximal element of the motor assembly, such as the motor housing, endcap, or bracket. While these approaches all function for the intended purpose, they may not be optimal in terms of cost and compactness.
With respect to magnetic wiring guidance, known approaches very often do not provide wire guidance and the randomness of the “lay” of the magnetic wiring is accepted as part of the process. A random wire lay takes more space and has higher resistance and less coil integrity than one that is neatly organized.
Thus, a need has developed in the art for an improved arrangement that does not suffer from one or more of the above-mentioned drawbacks.